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I recently borrowed a few of trades of TF: Robots in Disguise and TF: More Than Meets the Eye. Much to my surprise, they are actually good.

I gave up on Transformers comics a while back. Like a lot of 80's nostalgia books, I thought they were mostly just fan service. But these two current ongoings have a tight-knit cast and some good character work. I'm impressed.

They are not bad, but honestly, I find them using characterizations I don't always care for. I'm more of a classic cartoon fan, so the whole thing being built on the movie combined with some Dreamwave and Marvel UK stuff doesn't always work for me. But still, they are good stuff. Except with certain artists do an issue. That's a fail for me too, but most of the time, nice to look at even if the characters are drawn differently from time to time.

IF you are a fan of the classic, you may not like the fates of some characters at all.

"Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that? They're scientific instruments, not water pistols.""Oh, the pointing again! They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?""Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?"""Timey" what? "Timey wimey"?"

IvCNuB4 wrote:The Old Doctor is Cat-Scratch ?Well that explains a lot :lol:

BubbaKanoosh wrote:Old Doctor is the NuDCU's Catscratch

io9 wrote:What We Learned From Obsessively Studying The New Suicide Squad Footage - Toronto is a dark and dangerous place, full of menace.

I actually liked some of the DW stuff... but did not like most of IDW's early efforts. With these two series, I find myself a bit more onboard. Not perfect, but I am still buying them so that's something.

sdsichero wrote:I actually liked some of the DW stuff... but did not like most of IDW's early efforts. With these two series, I find myself a bit more onboard. Not perfect, but I am still buying them so that's something.

I liked War Within when it started at DW. But then the Marvel UK-isms started leaking in and I lost interest and enjoyment.

At worst, they are good time killers.

"Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that? They're scientific instruments, not water pistols.""Oh, the pointing again! They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?""Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?"""Timey" what? "Timey wimey"?"

IvCNuB4 wrote:The Old Doctor is Cat-Scratch ?Well that explains a lot :lol:

BubbaKanoosh wrote:Old Doctor is the NuDCU's Catscratch

io9 wrote:What We Learned From Obsessively Studying The New Suicide Squad Footage - Toronto is a dark and dangerous place, full of menace.

For the most part, I've really liked what IDW has done with the property. I really liked Simon Furman's initial minis, even if his run did end on a whimper. He mixed enough new elements into the Gen 1 formula to make the IDW-verse its own entity, rather than just a retread (see Dreamwave). All Hail Megatron was fun in an action movie sort of way, but the story was pretty shallow. The Earth-based follow-up was too movie-like for my tastes, and was generally just boring.

The two current ongoings are great. Robots in Disguise doesn't always have a ton of action, but I've really enjoyed seeing how both factions are dealing with the end of the war. Starscream, in particular, has really shined in Robots in Disguise, and, unfortunately for the Autobots, he really is the type of leader Cybertron needs right now. I have liked More than Meets the Eye both for its world-building elements (seeing how the rest of the universe regards Cybertronians has been insightful) and its emphasis on character (as both Tailgate and Hoist state, almost everyone is suffering from some sort of serious personality disorder due to the war). Again, we don't always see much action, but my favorite parts of the story are generally the character moments rather than the action sequences.

Cat-Scratch wrote:They are not bad, but honestly, I find them using characterizations I don't always care for. I'm more of a classic cartoon fan, so the whole thing being built on the movie combined with some Dreamwave and Marvel UK stuff doesn't always work for me. But still, they are good stuff. Except with certain artists do an issue. That's a fail for me too, but most of the time, nice to look at even if the characters are drawn differently from time to time.

IF you are a fan of the classic, you may not like the fates of some characters at all.

The IDW comics really don't incorporate much from the Bay movies, except for the fact that Cybertron was rendered uninhabitable by the war (emphasis on "was"). The designs and personalities are straight out of Gen 1, albeit more the Marvel comics than the cartoon. The number of deaths are characteristic of the Marvel comic as well, although there have not been nearly as many MAJOR deaths so far (two big deaths were subsequently reversed, and given where RID is heading, a few more may be as well). The first ongoing took some story elements from the movie, but thankfully we're past that now.

These are two of the only comics I read on a monthly basis and I'm happy that they're the best Transformers has been in a long, long time. More Than Meets the Eye is something I reread a lot. Robots in Disguise is finally picking up after the Prowl reveal and Megatron's return. It's fun to read a comic where you're actually excited for what could happen next... and you actually don't know what it will be. Most comics, I read the first book and I can pretty much predict the ending.

SuperginraiX wrote:These are two of the only comics I read on a monthly basis and I'm happy that they're the best Transformers has been in a long, long time. More Than Meets the Eye is something I reread a lot. Robots in Disguise is finally picking up after the Prowl reveal and Megatron's return. It's fun to read a comic where you're actually excited for what could happen next... and you actually don't know what it will be. Most comics, I read the first book and I can pretty much predict the ending.

I'm still trying to figure out what his endgame was during his latest escapade. It was like, what are you even trying to do anymore? I guess if his plan was to destroy a lot of stuff, he got what he wanted. But rule? Even if he wouldn't have been defeated by Bumblebee, Prowl, and Ironhide (and Wheeljack ), I couldn't see this doing more than turning the rest of the population against him and aggravating the conflict for another million years. Maybe that was his plan. Eternal War.

SuperginraiX wrote:These are two of the only comics I read on a monthly basis and I'm happy that they're the best Transformers has been in a long, long time. More Than Meets the Eye is something I reread a lot. Robots in Disguise is finally picking up after the Prowl reveal and Megatron's return. It's fun to read a comic where you're actually excited for what could happen next... and you actually don't know what it will be. Most comics, I read the first book and I can pretty much predict the ending.

SuperginraiX wrote:I'm still trying to figure out what his endgame was during his latest escapade. It was like, what are you even trying to do anymore? I guess if his plan was to destroy a lot of stuff, he got what he wanted. But rule? Even if he wouldn't have been defeated by Bumblebee, Prowl, and Ironhide (and Wheeljack ), I couldn't see this doing more than turning the rest of the population against him and aggravating the conflict for another million years. Maybe that was his plan. Eternal War.

However, the Megatron Spotlight was awesome.

Megatron's plan has always been peace through tyrrany. There is no way he would be willing to accept the democratic government being formed in Iacon. His goal in the most recent conflict was to utterly decimate those who would oppose him and then impose his will over those who remained. He would then essentially be in charge of Cybertron and the remaining Cybertronian population, and could begin Phase 7 of his plan: repopulation.

MrBlack wrote:Megatron's plan has always been peace through tyrrany. There is no way he would be willing to accept the democratic government being formed in Iacon. His goal in the most recent conflict was to utterly decimate those who would oppose him and then impose his will over those who remained. He would then essentially be in charge of Cybertron and the remaining Cybertronian population, and could begin Phase 7 of his plan: repopulation.

Ah, yes, right. I remember his long bromance talk with Optimus where he goes into details on what he'd do if he killed all of the Autobots. I guess I just think his plan is stupid.